This has to be THE BEST Needler replica that I have ever seen. I've been following this build for a long time, watching it from beginning to end and the results are simply amazing. The attention to detail is simply astounding, and from what I've read and and seen, it is built to scale (surely earning the Loftus award).

Check out this time lapse video showing it go from prototype, to master, to molding, to finished casting.

You can also read about the process here (sorry, not enough time to lazy link) and see more pictures.

http://www.tested.com/art/makers/458215-building-halo-needler-prop/

Volpin is pretty well known in the costuming/replica community, and has done lots of other cool projects from Bioshock to Futurama. You can see more of his stuff here if you'd like

http://www.volpinprops.com/portfolio/